NORMANS. 67 



he has produced above four hundred foals — that he haj 

 never heard of one fetching less than one hundred dollars, 

 and many much higher prices, and that he has never heard 

 of his having produced one worthless colt, or one that 

 is spa nned, curbed, ringboned, or has any of those defects 

 which render utterly useless so large a number of fine-bred 

 colts of the present day. 



We cannot close this chapter without stating our beliel 

 that, in the present state of American breeding, more good 

 can be attained, though the process is slower, by importing 

 the best Norman and Cleveland-bay mares, and breeding 

 them and their progeny — gelding all the males — for two or 

 more generations to select thorough-bred horses, than by 

 importing stallions of these very breeds in an endeavor to 

 work a regeneration on our weedy country mares, or to 

 raise valuable stock out of thorough-bred mares, which is 

 hopeless. We fully believe that a breeding farm started 

 with a dozen such mares, six of each breed, well chosen, 

 and bred year after year to the best and best selected thor- 

 ough-breds, would in a very few years realize a large fortune 

 to the breeder. 



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